Apparatus for aligning and supporting wall forms



;1955 K. s. GHORMLEY ET AL 2,723,437

APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING AND SUPPORTING WALL. FORMS Filed Feb. 28, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet l KARL S. GHORMLEY ROBERT V. GALBREATH fW f ATTORNEYINVENTORS Nov. 15, 1955 K. S. GHORMLEY ET AL APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING ANDSUPPORTING WALL FORMS Filed Feb. 28, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORSKARL S. GHORMLEY ROBERT V. GALBREATH ATTORNEY United States PatentAPPARATUS FOR ALIGNING AND SUPPORTING WALL FORMS Karl S. Glrormley,Canfield, and Robert V. Galbreath, Youngstown, Ohio, assignors toTownsend & Bottum, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., a corporation of MichiganApplication February 28, 1952, Serial No. 273,902

3 (Ilaims. (Cl. 25-131) The present invention relates to apparatus foruse in the construction of concrete walls and the like, and moreparticularly to a novel structure for aligning and supporting wall formspreparatory to pouring liquid concrete therein.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedarrangement for supporting concrete wall forms whereby the forms may beerected in a minimum time and with a maximum accuracy.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a wall formsupporting truss, for use particularly in the construction of concretewalls of substantial vertical extent, wherein all supporting members maybe positioned in close proximity to the wall under construction. Thisarrangement, as will appear below, provides a substantially increasedoperating area. about a wall under construction whereby pouring cranesor other motorized equipment may be readily maneuvered about theconstruction area and into a more desirable operating position withrespect to a wall under construction.

Another object of the present invention is theprovision of an improvedwall form supporting structure for use in. supporting wall forms atvaried vertical heights Wherein is incorporated certain novel means foraccurately and readily adjusting the vertical alignment of the formsfrom the construction area level.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of an improvedwall form supporting truss as set forth above which isprovided withreadily interchangeable supporting shores whereby the. truss may bequickly adapted for use at various heights of operation.

An ancillary object. of the present invention resides in the provisionof a novel wall form supporting truss including means for supporting ascaffold platform at an advantageous working level whereby a scaffoldplatform may be provided at an early stage of the wall form erectingoperation to facilitate and speed up the same.

The above and other objects and advantages of our invention will becomeapparent upon full consideration of the following detailed specificationand. accompanying drawing wherein the invention is illustrated in one ofits preferred forms:

In. the drawing:

Figures 1, 2 and. 3 are fragmentary cross section views of a concretewall at various stages of construction, illustrating the use of ournovelv truss. structure in. supporting wall. forms at various. heightsabove the construction area level;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front. elevation of the wall and trussapparatus shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a truss and adjustingwedgeas utilized in. theimanner taught by our invention for adjusting thevertical alignment of wall forms;

Figure. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the apparatus of Figures 2and 3v showing details of. an interchangeable connection between a maintruss frame and a supporting short member therefor; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary section view taken generally alongline VIlI-VIII of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to Figures 1 2 and 3thereof, the numeral 10 designates a concrete slab or base upon which avertically extending concrete wall 11 is to be constructed. According tousual practice a wall having a height of the order of forty feet, forexample, may be erected in a plurality of substantially equal increments12, 13 and 14, and the structure and use of the present invention willbe described with reference to this method of construction.

Figure 1 illustrates the lowermost increment 12 of wall 11 in a state ofpartial construction, and it will be observed therein that a semi-fluidconcrete mass is confined between parallel vertically and horizontallyextending wall forms 15 and 16. The wall forms 15 and 16 are ofconventional construction comprising a flat confining surface 17 ofplywood or other suitable material backed by a plurality of spacedvertically extending studs 18 and a plurality of spaced horizontallyextending walers 19 whereby to form a strong and rigid unitary structurecapable of withstanding the high lateral hydrostatic forces ofsemi-fluid concrete. In accordance with usual practice a plurality oftie rod members 20 are provided connecting and extending between theforms 15 and 16 to contain the hydrostatic pressure of the concrete.Also in accordance with usual practice, tie rods 20 comprise rods 21having threads, not shown, at each end for the reception of extensionsor she-bolts 22, the latter of which are threaded internally at one endfor engagement with rod 21 and externally at' the other end forengagement with nuts 23 or other retainingdevices. With the arrangementas above described the concrete mass may be allowed to set completelywith the tie rods 20 in place, whereupon the outwardly extendingshebolts 22 may be removed from each end of rod 21 leaving rods 20embedded in the concrete.

During pouring and setting of the concrete mass, wall forms 15 and 16-must be provided with external lateral support, as well as maintained inproper vertical alignment, and a novel and substantially improvedarrangement for accomplishing this forms the subject matter of thisinvention.

In the past, aligning and supporting of wall forms has been commonlyaccomplished by providing a plurality of shoring braces extending fromthe outer side of one wall form to the floor or base slab atan angle ofapproximately forty-five degrees. In addition to such shores, aplurality of similarly extending guy wires is commonly provided whereby,in combination with the bracing of the shores, the wall forms may beeither pushed or pulled to bring the same into proper vertical alignmentand thereafter maintain such alignment during pouring and subsequentsetting of the concrete.

We have found this arrangement to be objectionable for a number ofreasons. Firstly, in order to obtain adequate lateral support theshoring and guy wires must be unduly large, causing erection andadjustment to be needlessly diflicult and time consuming. Secondly, whensupporting wall forms at a height of thirty to forty feet, for example,the shoring necessarily extends far into the construction area creatingdangerous overhead obstructions and materially impeding the use ofmobile equipment. Thirdly, accurate alignment of the wall forms becomesincreasingly difiicult as the same are supported at increasing heights,and we have found that alignment tolerances of as much as plus or minusone-fourth inch are difiicult to obtain in the construction of highWalls. Other disadvantages of this arrangement may be readily observedupon comparison thereof with the apparatus of our invention ashereinafter described.

In the construction of the lower wall increment 12, forms 15 and 16 maybe rested upon the base 111 in the desired position and orientation asshown in Figure 1. To provide lateral support and vertical alignment ofthe forms 15 and 16 as required, we secure to the form 16, for example,a plurality of horizontally spaced generally rectangular trussstructures 24 which extend outwardly of the form 16 a distance of, forexample, four feet. In the preferred form of the invention each trussstructure comprises inner and outer vertically disposed beams 25 and 26respectively which are rigidly secured in spaced relation by means of aplurality of horizontally disposed struts 27-30 and intermediatediagonal struts 31-33. The illustrated structure contemplates theconstruction of walls of approximately forty feet in height in threesubstantially equal increments 1214, and it has been found that the useof 2 x 6" wooden planks for members 2633 provides a truss structure ofadequate strength for this purpose. Inner beam 25 is preferablyconstructed of a plurality of 2 x 6 members arranged in the manner shownin Figure 8. Equivalent tubular or angle-section metal construction may,of course, be used throughout if desired.

According to the teachings of our invention trusses 24 are secured towall form 16 near the upper end portion thereof, and for this purpose wemay utilize a bolt 34 (see Figure 8) which extends through form 16 andvertical beam 25 and which is secured to the latter by a nut 35.Alternatively, an extended she-bolt, not shown, may be used to securebeam 25 to the form 16.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the proportion of trusses 24 and wall forms15 and 16 should be such that when trusses 24 are secured in the mannerdescribed to form 16 the lower end of outer beam 26 will be spacedupwardly from the base slab 10. A spacing distance in the order of twoinches has been found to be satisfactory.

With form 16 having been positioned with its lower edge along apredetermined line as required by the specifications of the wall 11under construction, it will at once be apparent that lateral support andalignment of the form 16 may be provided by causing or tending to causepivotal movement of the form 16 about its lower edge. Thus it isdesirable to secure the lower edge of form 16 or otherwise provide thatpivotal movement take place substantially thereabout. In the arrangementshown in Figure 1 we preferably secure the form 16 at its lower edge,and we accomplish this by clamping lower plate 36 of the form 16directly to the base 10; the lower plate 36 being a conventional elementof form 16 as will be understood.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, means for clamping plate36 to the base slab 10 comprises a plurality of internally threadedanchors 37 which are embedded in the slab 10 at the time the same ispoured and which are adapted to receive bolts 38 as shown in Figure 10.Anchors 37 are prepositioned in slab 10 with reference to thespecifications of wall 11 so that when form 16 is subsequently erectedthe lower plate 36 thereof will lie closely adjacent the anchors 37.Clamping pressure may then be applied to plate 36 by means of metalplates 39 which are drawn downwardly against plate 36 by the bolts 38.Spacer blocks 40 may be utilized, if desired, to support the outer endsof plates 39 when the same are drawn downwardly against plate 36.

With plate 36 clamped to the base 10 as above described we may supportand adjust the forms 15 and 16 by applying appropriate verticallydirected force to the lower end of beam 26 of the truss 24, the latterforming, in etfect, a lever by means of which such vertically directedforce is modified to a horizontal supporting and adjusting force. Thepreferred arrangement for applying such force is illustrated in Figureand comprises a wedge 4-1, which is inserted between the lower end ofbeam 26 and the base 10, and a pair of bolts 42 which engage L-shapedbrackets 43 secured to the beam 26 at each side thereof. Suitableanchors 44 are provided in the base 10 for the reception of bolts 42,and it will be understood that anchors 44 are prepositioned in theconcrete base 10 at the time the same is poured.

Thus, it will be apparent that beam 26 may be readily raised or loweredby suitable adjusting movement of bolts 42 and wedge 4-1, and that thebeam 26 may be rigidly locked in any adjusted position by driving wedge41 inwardly so that the L-shaped brackets 43 are drawn firmly intoengagement with the heads of bolts 42. This adjustment may beaccomplished with speed and precision as will be readily understood, andwith the apparatus firmly set in a desired adjusted position rigidsupport is provided for the form 16 in both lateral directions, i. e.,to the left and right as viewed in Figure 1.

Adjustment of and support for wall form 15 is, of course, provided bythe plurality of tie rod members 20 since the hydrostatic pressure ofthe semi-liquid concrete tends to force forms 15 and 16 apart. Tie rodmembers 20 are accordingly adjusted to maintain form 15 in predeterminedrelation to form 16. In the present illustration forms 15 and 16 aremaintained in parallel relation.

Construction of the second wall increment 13 is illustrated in Figure 2,and it will be observed therein that the trusses 24 are secured to wallform 16 in the same manner as in the construction of wall increment 12but that in the latter instance trusses 24 are secured in offsetrelation to the form 16 whereby the lower end portions of the trussesextend below the lower edge of form 16 a distance in the order of one totwo feet. The inner beam 25 may thus be pivotally secured at its lowerend to the lower wall increment 12 in the manner shown, by providing anelongated she-bolt 45 secured to the uppermost of the rods 21 embeddedin the lower wall increment 12. A spacer block 46 is interposed betweenthe face of wall increment 12 and the inner beam 25 to compensate forthe thickness of form 16 whereby the continuity of the wall surface ismaintained.

To support forms 15 and 16 in the elevated position shown in Figure 2 aplurality of L-shaped brackets 47 may be mounted on the lower wallincrement 12 to provide an outwardly extending surface upon which lowerplate 36 may be rested. It will be apparent that brackets 47 may besecured by means of she-bolt 45 at the same time spacer block 46 andbeam 45 are mounted. If necessary, a similar L-shaped bracket, nowshown, may be provided at the opposite side of wall increment 12. In theillustrated arrangement, however, the stepped construction of the wallincrements 12 and 13 provides a land upon which form 15 may besupported.

When trusses 24 are supported in an elevated position as shown in Figure2, lateral support and alignment control are provided by securing anelongated shore 48 to the lower end of vertical beam 26; the shore 48extending substantially to the base slab 10 as indicated. L-shapedbrackets 43' are provided at the lower end of shores 48 for engagementby bolts 42 and according to the principles of the invention a space inthe order of two inches is provided between the lower end of shore 48and the surface of base 10 whereby wedge 41 may be insertedtherebetween. Vertical adjustment of beam 26 is effected by appropriatemanipulation of bolts 42 and wedge 41 as in the previous illustration,but it will be observed from Figure 2 that the elevated trusses 24 arecaused to pivot about spacer blocks 46 rather than about the lower edgeof form 16. The arrangements are substantial equivalents, however, andit will be noted that plate 36 may be clamped to L-shaped bracket 47 ifdesired.

Construction of the third wall increment 14 is accomplished in the samemanner as construction of the second increment 13, with a longer shore49 being substituted for shore 48 as will be observed in Figure 3.

Since the same trusses 24 may be used in the con- '5 struction of eachof the. wallincrements 12, 13, and 14 it is desirable that shores 48 and49 be quickly detachable from the trusses 24 and to this end we haveprovided pins 50 extending transversely through the upper ends of theshores 48 and 49 and outwardly of each side thereof as indicated inFigure 4. Eyebolts 51 or equivalent devices may thusbe utilized toengage pins 50 and L-shaped brackets 43 to draw the upper ends of theshores 48 and 49 into engagement with the lower ends of beams26. Withthis arrangement shores 48 and 49 may be attached, detached orinterchanged in a practical minimum of time as will be understood.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the uppermost struts30-of trusses 24 are arranged to be substantially horizontally disposedwhen the trusses 24 are in operation, and we may thus utilize the struts30 to support a scaffold platform 52 acrossthe entire horizontal extentof the wall 11. The scaffold 52, comprising a plurality of planks 52'laid in side-by-side relation, may be erected at the initial stages ofconstruction and is thus available for use during a greater part of theconstruction. The platform support thus provided is substantiallystronger than common prior arrangements wherein suitable cleats weresecured to the form 16 for attaching a platform support thereto.

A hand rail 53 may also be readily provided by merely extending theouter vertical beam 26 upwardly above the strut 30 a convenient distanceand nailing or otherwise securing the rail 53 thereto.

Both the handrail 53 and scaffold planks 52' may be utilized in anadditional capacity to provide horizontal interconnection between aplurality of spaced trusses 24 where such interconnection may benecessary or desirable.

It should thus be apparent that we have accomplished the objectsinitially set forth. We have provided a simple and inexpensivelyconstructed wall form supporting structure which may be rapidly andeasily assembled and put into use, and which provides for highlyaccurate vertical alignment of the supported wall forms.

With the apparatus of our invention wall forms may be rigidly andaccurately supported at high elevations with a minimum number of bracingshores and with such shores positioned in close proximity to the wallunder construction. A substantially less obstructed construction arearesults which provides for safer working conditions and for moreeffective and advantageous use of motorized equipment as will be readilyappreciated.

Comparative tests have shown our apparatus to possess a materiallygreater load carrying ability than conventional apparatus now in commonuse. For example, our structures have demonstrated a capacity forresisting lateral thrust loads in the order of four times that ofequivalent form supporting apparatus utilizing conventional shoringextending outwardly and downwardly from the wall forms at an angle ofapproximately fortyfive degrees.

Initial setting-up of wall forms and supporting structure therefor isgreatly simplified with the apparatus of our invention as may beunderstood, and this feature is manifested in time savings of as much asfitfy percent of the time required to erect and adjust conventionalapparatus. Savings in cost are of course proportionate.

A further substantial saving in cost and time is afforded through theuse of quickly interchangeable shores which permit a single set oftrusses to be used at various elevations from the construction arealevel. It may be ob served, moreover, that but a negligible loss ofstrength and adjustment accuracy occurs as wall forms are supported atincreasing elevations.

Highly accurate adjustment of wall forms may be readily accomplishedwith our apparatus through appropriate adjustment of bolts 42 and wedges41; such adjustment being accomplished in the same manner and with thesame ease regardless of the height at which the Wall forms aresupported. With our apparatus adjustments may be readily made withineighth of an inch of specification dimensions substantially regardlessof the height of the wall, whereas with conventional apparatus it hasbeen found diflicult to. make adjustments within one-fourth inch ofspecifications, and it becomes more difiicult and time consuming to holdsuch tolerances as the height of the Wall under construction increases.

An additional advantageous feature of our invention resides in the easewith which the same may be adapted to support a scaffold platform andguard rail for use by workmen during pouring of concrete into the formsand for allied operations incidental to the construction of the wall.With our apparatus a scaffold may be constructed in negligible time andmay be utilized throughout a greater part of the construction time.Improved working conditions and reduced construction time are a naturalresult of this arrangement.

It should be understood that the above specifically described embodimentis merely representative and that many alternations may be made thereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention. Reference shouldtherefore be had to the appended claims in determining the true scope ofthe invention.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for use in constructing upper sections of a pouredconcrete wall comprised of a plurality of successively cast superimposedwall sections wherein each wall section constitutes a supporting surfacefor the next cast wall section, the first of said successively cast wallsections being supported upon a base surface, a combination of a pair ofspaced vertical wall forms disposed longitudinally along the supportingsurface provided by the previously cast lower wall section and havingtheir bottom edge portions supported thereby, means interconnecting saidWall forms to contain the hydrostatic pressure of concrete pouredtherebetween, means to position said Wall forms on said last mentionedsupporting surface comprising rigid truss means positioned on one sideonly of said wall and secured to one of said forms and extendingoutwardly therefrom, means to secure said truss means to the previouslycast Wall section along a longitudinally disposed fixed axis paralleland adjacent to the lower edge of said one of said forms, said means tosecure providing for a limited rocking movement of said truss meansabout said axis, and a depending support member adjustably connectingsaid truss in rigid relation with said base surface whereby the trussand wall form assembly may be adjustably aligned in desired relation tothe said previously cast wall section.

2. In apparatus for use in constructing upper sections of a pouredconcrete wall comprised of a plurality of successively cast superimposedwall sections wherein each Wall section constitutes a supporting surfacefor the next cast wall section, the first of said successively cast wallsections being supported upon a base surface, a combination of a pair ofspaced vertical wall forms disposed longitudinally along the supportingsurface provided by the previously cast lower wall section and havingtheir bottom edge portions supported thereby, means interconnecting saidwall forms to contain the hydrostatic pressure of concrete pouredtherebetween, truss means positioned on one side only of said wall andsecured to one of said forms and having a portion extending outwardlytherefrom, means to secure the combined structure of said truss meansand said one of said forms to the previously cast wall section along ahorizontal axis parallel with and adjacent to the lower edge of said oneof said forms, said means to secure providing for a limited rockingmovement of said combined structure about said axis, and support meansdepending from said extending portion of said truss means and adjustablyconnecting said extending portion in rigid relation with said basesurface whereby the truss and wall form assembly may be adjustablyaligned in desired relation to the said previously cast wall section.

3. In apparatus for use in constructing upper sections of a pouredconcrete wall comprised of a plurality of successively cast superimposedwall sections wherein each wall section constitutes a supporting surfacefor the next cast wall section, the first of said successively cast wallsections being supported upon a base surface, a combination of a pair ofspaced vertical Wall forms disposed longitudinally along the supportingsurface provided by the previously cast lower Wall section and havingtheir bottom edge portions supported thereby, means interconnecting saidwall forms to contain the hydrostatic pressure of concrete pouredtherebetween, means positioned on one side only of said wall to secureone of said forms to the previously cast wall section along a horizontalaxis parallel with and adjacent to the lower edge of said one of saidforms, said means to secure providing for a limited rocking movement ofsaid one of said forms, rigid means connecting said one of said formsand extending outwardly thereof, and a depending support memberadjustably connecting said rigid means in rigid relation with said basesurface whereby the said one of said forms may be adjustably aligned indesired relation to the said previously cast wall section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS713,173 Taylor Nov. 11, 1902 916,083 Witthoefft Mar. 23, 1909 2,516,318Hawes July 25, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 257,350 Great Britain Aug. 30, 1926

